What’s most puzzling is that the same religion can nail down, to the day, the birth of their saviour, and even tells stories of who paid them a visit, and what gifts they brought, but they can’t narrow down the date he died and then rose from the dead.

I don’t know about you, but it seems like something I would remember.

If you can overlook the fact that the date changes, the story seems pretty far-fetched. Again, I’m a cynic, and in recent years, knowing what we know, I find myself believing more in the possibility of alien life out there than the stories of the Bible, or any other religious document for that matter.

Consider me an equal opportunity non-believer in religion!

Let’s leave the talk of religion, for everyone’s sake. The icing on the cake for me when it comes to Easter is how we got from a religion’s saviour sacrificing himself for his followers, to a rabbit pooping out chocolate covered eggs.

From what I managed to find, it would appear that the tradition in North America stems from German Lutheran settlers arriving in the 1700’s.

According to the stories, the bunny would go from house to house, handing out Easter eggs and gifts to the well-behaved children. Personally it sounds to me like a group of adults got together and decided that there was just no way they can hang the threat of being good or no toys from Santa for a whole year, so someone had the brilliant idea to create the bunny to break the long year up.

If you’ve raised a child and found yourself negotiating for their good behaviour you can appreciate the sheer brilliance of this scheme.

However it began, it’s turned into another chance for corporate America to cram some more guilt down your throat, reminding you that all of the other moms are going to send their kids to school with candy and cupcakes hand made for your kids, so you better do the same or your child will be the laughing stock. I think it’s the twisted commercialism that has me all cynical.

While my opinion is merely that, mine, we are each entitled to celebrate the extra day off in our own way.

Like many of you, I will likely be spending time around the dinner table with those I care about dearly, eating ham and scalloped potatoes, another tradition that seems synonymous with the holiday.

With that in mind, let’s talk about how we can save you from serving dreadfully dry ham this weekend. The first advice I need to tell you is that your ham is already cooked.

Chances are it’s been brined or cured, smoked, and then cooked some more, by the time you are ready to serve it. Now I know many of you know this, but you would be surprised how many don’t.

Why is this important? Well, because that means you don’t need to cook it for safety, you simply have to get it hot.

What’s the best way to do this you ask?

My preference is to start with moist heat, and then finish with dry heat, when it’s time to glaze.

If you were to cook the ham like a roast beef, using the dry heat of your oven, you will likely have a very dry ham on the outside before the centre is warm.

You can use your slow cooker for this stage, assuming it will fit, or you can use that roasting pan with the lid you’ve had for years and never used.

The key is to keep things moist. Covering the ham with a lid is the way to achieve that.

It doesn’t even hurt to add a cup of water or stock to the bottom of the pan. Use a probe thermometer too. Once the internal temperature of the ham is about 130F or above, then it’s time to finish the ham with a glaze and dry heat.

This stage will take 15-20 minutes, depending on the heat you use. Keep in mind that most ham glazes are sweet and the sugars will burn easily. Enjoy the weekend and in the interest of being religiously correct, Happy non-denominational time away from work!

Maple-Horseradish Glazed Ham

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 60-75 minutes

Special Tools: a roasting pan with a rack and a lid

Makes: enough for a family dinner, and leftover

1 ea. ham, about 8-10 pounds, I like Gammon hams from Valbella

1 cup maple syrup

½ cup Dijon mustard

½ cup grainy Dijon

½ cup horseradish

• Preheat the oven to 350F

• Place the ham on a wire rack, in a roasting pan, with a lid

• Place in the centre of the oven, lid on, and bake until the internal temperature reaches at least 130F, about an hour, but it will vary based on each ham

• In a bowl combine all of the glaze ingredients

• Remove the lid and increase the temperature to 425F

• Using a sharp knife, gently score the top of the ham, only going about a half inch deep

• Generously glaze the ham with the mixture, using a pastry brush

• Place back in the oven and roast until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes, glazing again further occasionally as you go

• Serve when ready

If you’re looking for a few more side dishes to pair with your dinner, give these ones a try!

About the author

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After missing out on our nearly annual trip to the
Okanagan Valley last summer we managed to get
down there to visit twice this year. Thanks to two
of our family’s favourite couples choosing to tie
the knot in western Canada’s wine country we
were lucky enough to squeeze in two mini
vacation getaways.